Assembly of the Southern European Conference (CEM)

The Assembly of the Southern European Conference (CEM), established on the 7th October, 2024, took place from the 6th-10th October, 2025, in Lisbon, Portugal, at the Franciscan Convent of Our Lady of Victories. The Assembly brings together the Provincial Ministers of Italy (12), Spain (3), Portugal (1), and the Custos of Albania. The meeting was also attended by the General Definitor, Br. Cesare Vaiani, and a delegate of the Provincial Minister of Malta, as an observer. On the afternoon of the 6th October, the presentation of the newly elected Ministers was followed by a sharing of the efforts and hopes experienced in the Entities, with special attention to the various restructuring processes underway; the dialogue continued The following day, during a videoconference, contributions were made by the Custos of the Holy Land, Br. Francesco Ielpo, delegated by the Minister General to accompany the Provinces of Campania and Calabria, and Fr. Sergiusz Bałdyga, delegated for the Provinces of Spain and Portugal. On Tuesday, the 7th October, the Assembly then examined the final documents of the Chapter of Mats and the Plenary Council of the Order, and the report by Fr. Cesare Vaiani on the reflection that the Order is conducting on the structural processes implemented and the new possibilities for the transformation of the Entities.

On Wednesday, the 8th October, the CEM met with some vocational animators from Italy, Spain and Portugal, discussing the common initiatives carried out so far and the prospects for collaboration; particular attention was paid to the joint conference of the Secretariats (Formation and Studies, Missions and Evangelization) and the JPIC Office which will be held in Madrid from the 10th-14th November, 2025. In the afternoon, the Portuguese Provincial Minister guided us on an interesting visit to the centre of Lisbon, which also included the sanctuary of the birthplace of St Anthony.

On Thursday, the 9th October, the COMPI and CONFRES sub-conferences met separately, and then together again to appoint the Ministers delegated for the various sectors; in the afternoon, we visited the ancient Capuchin hermitage of Sintra, and were guests of the confreres of the friary of Torres Vedras.

On the morning of Friday, the 10th October, the Ministers planned the two Assemblies of 2026, which will take place from the 10th-13th January 2026 in Assisi (in conjunction with the opening celebration of the VIII Centenary of the Transitus) and from the 19th-23rd  October  at St James of Compostela. The President of the CEM, Fr. Francesco Piloni, concluded the meeting by thanking our Portuguese confreres for their warm hospitality and the atmosphere of cordial fraternity in the assembly, which allowed for a frank and constructive dialogue and fostered the desire, expressed by our Minister General on the occasion of the birth of the new Conference, to "learn from one another how to live as friars and minors in this part of Europe." The President of the CEM, Fr. Francesco Piloni, concluded the meeting by thanking our Portuguese confreres for their warm hospitality and the atmosphere of cordial fraternity in the assembly, which allowed for a frank and constructive dialogue and fueled the desire, expressed by our Minister General on the occasion of the birth of the new Conference, to "learn from one another how to live as friars and minors in this part of Europe."

Br. Andrea Dovio, OFM